Director Tom Hooper did a masterful job of turning the musical Les Miserables into a marvelous movie. This time around, he’s tackled one of the world’s most popular shows and failed nobly. I’ve always thought this play was stupidly weird (what IS a jellicle cat?) and the music was too twee (with the exception of “Memory”). This screen version hasn’t changed my opinions. As anyone who’s seen a clip knows, it’s downright creepy to see these actors digitally transformed into catlike bodies. To make matters worse, the dancing is often dumb, the sets aren’t attractive and the staging lacks beauty or inventiveness. With the exception of Ian McKellen’s touching “Gus: The Theatre Cat” and Jennifer Hudson’s dramatic “Memory,” there’s nothing warm or wonderful about this laughable feline failure.
(1 / 5)